Posts in Category: Sulky Decorative Threads

Hello and welcome to my website!!! I'm so happy you are here. Happy National Embroidery Month! This has been an amazing tour with lots of inspiration and creativity, and there's lots more on the way!

When I was asked to join the 2019 Stitch Along Tour, I was thrilled because I love Designs in Machine Embroidery and working with pre-printed panels. I really enjoy doing machine embroidery and working with Baby Lock's IQ Designer, so this project was a perfect match for me!!! My twist on the new Farmhouse Collection - Sentiments by dime, was "sew" much fun.

I started this project using a Baby Lock Destiny, and about halfway through this project I got my Solaris!!! Happy Dance!!! So, of course, I had to let "Tinkerbell" play too! I used Sulky 40 wt. Rayon thread for the embroidery in a variety of colors.

I always test embroidery designs before I stitch them out. I also wanted to audition my ideas before stitching on the "real" panel, so here's what I did. I hooped Sulky Soft 'n Sheer™ Stabilizer, or you can use Baby Lock No-Show Mesh Stabilizer. As you can see in this picture, I made a free standing appliqué (heart) and I embroidered the lettering directly onto the stabilizer. After I trimmed away the stabilizer, I was able to get a better idea as to what it would look liked stitched onto the panel. I love this auditioning technique!!!

I pinned the heart in place and hooped the panel. At the machine (Destiny), I scanned the hooped fabric with the heart still pinned in place. Then, I was able to line up the design exactly where I wanted it to stitch ~ awesome!

This is a beautiful appliqué design, and I wanted to put a twist on it. I found the red gingham fabric in my stash, and it had a tendency to fray! I thought it would be perfect to give the panel a shabby appeal! I used my Clover Patchwork scissors to snip around the edges of the fabric for an even shabbier look.

Next, I focused on some fun features in IQ Designer that I'm so excited to share with you. Now, just to back up a little...prior to stitching the heart on the panel, I hooped the panel and scanned it in IQ Designer.

I used the Line and Fill properties in IQ Designer to trace around the letters and fill the letters with a satin stitch. I chose to work in the color red because it was more visible. I had so much fun doing this that I forgot to take a more current picture, but here's a picture of the time I practiced on the letter "t" in the word "Gather." When I was ready to start for real, I started from the beginning with the word "The."

When you save the artwork in IQ Designer and convert it to an embroidery design, the embroidery design is in the exact place where it needs to stitch, as long as you don't re-hoop! It's very important to note that I did not re-hoop my panel. Shown below is "The Gathering Place" design in the embroidery mode. Notice how I was able to zoom in 200%, so I could take a closer look. And, if I wanted to make any fine adjustments, I could have used the directional arrows to move the design.

Here it is, stitching out exactly as planned!!!! This is so exciting!

A lot of times when I work, I come up with new ideas at different stages. It turns out that I sewed on the border next! I love using Clover Wonder Clips, especially since I have a "help-purr" in my sewing room who likes to steal pins!

Perfect timing...the Solaris arrived! This was the perfect opportunity to use the projector to project the floral spray on the panel exactly where I wanted it. The projector is revolutionary and makes perfect placement so easy!

I really had fun using IQ Designer to transform the black border fabric!!!! Shown is the image of the scanned fabric. As you can see, I have just a wee bit more to finish!

I used the brush tool in the fill properties menu to "brush" exactly where I wanted the decorative fill stitching.

I used the Dual Feed Foot with the open toe foot attachment to stitch in the ditch between the panel and the border. If you aren't familiar with the Dual Feed Foot, it has a belt that you can't see in this picture. The belt helps to move the fabric from the top while the feed dogs move the fabric from the bottom! A really great foot to use when working with multiple layers!!! You can't tell in this picture, but I used Sulky 40 wt. Rayon thread in a variegated black and gray.

I used a Clover Bias Tape Maker to make the bias tape for the binding.

This was a lot of fun, and I hope you enjoyed reading about how I transformed the panel using my Baby Lock Destiny and Solaris machines, and IQ Designer.

To enter to win the Farmhouse Collection - Sentiments panel kit, please leave a comment below. Be sure to include your first name and the initial of your last name in the comments. You can include your city and/or state if you want. I need a way to address you when I announce the winner. You can get another chance to win if you like my Sewing Machine Artistry Facebook page and comment there too!!! You can use the Facebook link at the top of this page to find my Facebook page. If you already like my page, please leave a comment on my Facebook page. I'll draw a random winner on Fri-yay, February 15th, 2019 at 12:00 noon EST!!! Be sure to come back and check out my Facebook page and/or website to find out if you are the winner!!!

Thank you you so much for joining me here, and I hope you have a Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Disclaimer: Now for my public service announcement...This post contains affiliate links directly to the Sulky website. When you shop using my special link, I will receive a small percentage from the sale, but the price you pay and any ongoing sales will be the same as if you visited the Sulky website directly. I appreciate you using my affiliate link if you need some supplies from Sulky. I am also a Baby Lock Ambassador of Education and a demonstrator for Clover Needlecraft, and whenever possible, I promote their products as well but do not have an affiliate relationship with them. To inquire about sewing supplies and Baby Lock machines, be sure to visit your local authorized Baby Lock retailer.

I'm so excited for 2018! I really think this is going to be a big year for me. Thanks for following me on this journey!

So, I did my first Facebook LIVE video today, and I liked it! I'll post it as soon as I can teach myself how to download it from Facebook and upload it here. Rut-roh!!! The sound was horrible so I deleted the video. However, I figured out how to upload it here the next time!

Are you interested in taking a class from me in the Hagerstown, Maryland area? I'd love to teach you how to make the Cell Phone Wallet from Hold Everything Purses, Totes and More! written by Pam Damour and Betty Mitchell. I am now a Certified National Educator for Pam Damour!

So, have you ever wondered how far a spool of thread goes? I thought I would entertain you with some fun facts about how many stitches it takes to get to the end of a Sulky spool of thread. For those of us who are over a certain age, doesn’t that remind you of Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pops??

• Average stitch length of an embroidery design is between 4-5mm. Many of you may not embroider (yet), so your normal sewing stitch length would be shorter, perhaps 2.5mm.

• If you had all 388 Sulky 40 wt. Rayon Thread colors on a 250 yard Snap spool, you could create 17,072,000 stitches. Remember this is the 4-5mm stitch length.

• If you had all 388 Sulky 40 wt. Rayon Thread colors on a 850 yard King spool you would be able to create 60,528,000.

850 yard King spools of Sulky 40 wt. Rayon Thread.

So, are you curious to know how much embroidery that is?

The average embroidery design has 20,000 stitches...

• ...with 388 Sulky 40 wt. Rayon Thread on a 250 yard spools, you could create 854 designs or more than 2 a day, everyday for a year.

• ...with 388 Sulky 40 wt. Rayon Thread on a 850 yard spools, you could create 3,026 designs or more than 2 a day everyday for almost 4 years!

So now you know how many 4-5mm stitches it takes to get to the end of a Sulky spool of thread!

5,500 yard Jumbo spool of Sulky 40 wt. Rayon Thread.

Let's have some fun! Can you figure out how many 4-5mm stitches a 5,500 Jumbo spool of thread can create?

Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for Sulky, and the highlighted links within this post contain my special code to the Sulky webstore. When you use these links, you will be directed to Sulky's webstore. The cost of the products are the same whether or not you use my links, but using my links allows me to receive a small commission from the sale. This is a way of letting me know how much you like the information I am posting for you, and I truly appreciate your business and support.

It's hard to believe it's time to start thinking about Christmas already. We all know it takes time and TLC to make special handmade gifts from the heart for our family and friends. In this video, I inspire you to embellish a preprinted panel with Sulky decorative threads. I also give you amazing tips and exercises to practice so that you can free motion sew, or quilt interconnecting circles! If I can do it, so can you! It's really a lot of fun and easy, especially after you practice.

​Let me hear a whoa hoo! I hope this video inspires you to try embellishing a preprinted panel with beautiful Sulky threads.

By the way, don't forget to visit my shop to link to the Sulky online store, if you need to order supplies!

Here's the exercise sheet I promised. Print it out on regular paper and practice tracing the lines and complete the rest of the row.

The next exercise is optional, and well worth it. When you are ready, print the exercise sheet on a piece of Sulky Sticky Fabri-Solvy Stabilizer (soon to be called Stick 'n Stitch) from your home printer. This is a Wash Away stabilizer, and is available in convenient 8 ½" by 11" sheets. It has a self-adhesive backing, like a postage stamp. Peel that backing off and place it on a practice quilt sandwich!

There's one or two more exercises you can try, and I explain them in the video.

I hope you enjoyed this post and are inspired to embellish preprinted panels with beautiful Sulky decorative threads.